Animal, the British board sports brand, is on the look-out for a new chief executive after John Stockton announced that he would step down. He has been steering the company for the last eight years, building Animal into a brand with scores of stores and international distribution agreements. Kevin Keaney was appointed from within the company as interim managing director. Stockton said he wanted to stay in the industry. The company's human resources department will be very busy this summer since it will also have to find a replacement for Chris Clark, Animal’s international sales manager, who has moved to Pentland.